Can I Meet my Children's Needs?

Do you ever feel so rushed and overwhelmed with daily work that you don't have time to really nurture your children? I know I do, they keep asking you to play with them, hold them or just listen to them, their little soul is just aching for your companionship, and the work needs to get finished. Then they start being destructive or naughty, not because they want to be, but more for the attention that they felt they couldn't get in a more constructive way.

I often feel guilty for not being able to spend more quality time with my children, I feel like they just get to come along for the ride with me and share in my work and life. It has been weighing on me pretty heavy as we are getting into the beginning of our busy season here at the farm so they see their Daddy less too. It makes for less help around the home for me(=a more stressed mommy) and less quality family time as well.

I was reminded while we were having our family devotions recently that even Mary, the woman chosen by God specifically to mother His Son, had days like this too. In Luke 2 Verse 41-52 we see that she and Joseph are in a very busy time in their lives too. They were returning home from Passover, which is a very big holiday in the Jewish culture, and they had traveled with a large group of family to celebrate in Jerusalem; in my experience holiday celebrations involving lots of people is never a stress free event. Then after a day into the journey home they realize he is not with the group. As a mom I know that I would be panic stricken at this point! They back track and look everywhere for him for 3 days! When they do find him he is in the temple listening and asking questions to the teachers. I really feel like Mary was still panicked and unloading her anxiety on her son when she said, "Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You." His reply is “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” Jesus needed to have quality time with His father. When our children are young, and don't have that personal relationship with the Lord, they feel a need to share be known with us parents instead of with their savoir.

It is such an honor that our children want to be with us and share everything because sometimes when we don't make time we miss the beautiful moments of their personal growth or spiritual connection. I know that I often have to slow down and take a break to just be "with" my children. Draw a picture, listen to a story, eat a pretend meal or just give a hug. The little things that take maybe 5 or so min throughout the day resonate deeply with children; and really, don't we like to have the ones we love share in the little things in our life too?

One of the last things in the story of Jesus being in the temple was that after all that went on it said that Mary treasured all these things in her heart. As we guide our children and share in their lives, those moments where we see their desire for the Lord, we should treasure in our hearts.  It is special, sacred even and as a mother I get the blessed opportunity to witness that with each of my children. I pray that one day, when I share my love for Jesus, their hearts will realize that what I will never be able to fill as a mother, they will always be able to have with Jesus the heavenly Father. The special oneness they crave.

Don't be discouraged on the busy days, instead be encouraged, knowing the only one that is perfect and can meet every need our child has is Jesus and we just have to point our children to Him.  He will satisfy our hearts and fill us up so we can pour out to others. Rest in Him, and share with your precious children in the little moments and big ones too.



                                                              The Farmer in the Dell

How Many Trees Does It Take To Wipe My Mouth?

They make any meal more fancy, they earn a lot more respect than their disposable counterparts, the cloth napkin is ready for it's comeback! We don't think twice about using a cloth napkin at dinner time or for spills but I know some people we have had over are afraid to even use them during the meal. No, they don't bite and yes they do wash out!

We save money and trees by not using paper and I love to have the different patterns and colors to liven up the table. The National Resources Defense Counsel estimates that if every home in the US replaced one 250 count package of paper napkins with recycled/cloth we could save 1 million trees! The average tree can make 28, 750 napkins, which sounds like a lot, but the average person uses 2,200 of them per/year! Why waste the trees on a napkin when there are better things to use our natural resources for. Once you make a napkin stash you wouldn't have to buy another package again!

The kind we use are lined but you can just cut out a square of fabric and hem the edges if you want. To make a lined version is really simple too all you will need is:

• Cotton fabric, preferably a pattern and solid that coordinate
• Sweing machine 
• Thread

First you will want to cut out your squares, you can make them whatever size you like just make sure the squares are all the same size; mine are 11"x11".

Then you want to put the pattern and the outer part of the solid fabric facing each other so you can't see the pattern any more. this is going to be the inside of your napkin.

Fold a little bit of the edges down on both sides.

Now sew around the edges of the square, very close to the edge, slightly rounding the corners and leaving about a 2"-4" space on one side, not at a corner, un-sewn.

Pull the napkin inside out and then sew over the gap, and around the napkin's edge again.

Now you have the finished, fancy, lined, cloth napkin! Wasn't that easy?

     The Farmer in The Dell

Home Made Cloth Diapers

As I mentioned before we love cloth diapers, but it can be overwhelming if you are new to the cloth diaper scene and you go shopping online. Do you buy All-In-Ones? Pockets? Or Hybrids? How much do you want to invest in diapers is also a consideration as some of the brands/options can be quite pricy. I will just tell you my experiences and the options that seem to work best for us.

 The All-In-One (AIO)
Cost: we tried out a few of these that I had picked up at yard sales or were given to us. So while if you buy them new they range from $10-25 per diaper but we payed maybe $3 per diaper for the couple we bought. Considering a baby goes through about 6-8 cloth diapers/day and you don't want to be doing diapers every day, if you did them every other day, that could total up to $96-$400 for a set.
Pros: The nice thing about this kind of diaper is it is most like a disposable. You put it on the baby, throw it in the hamper after dumping solids, and wash then dry. Very simple and non-intimidating to people who babysit your baby who are not used to cloth. They also are very absorbent, so leaking never really happened with these.
Cons: When you wash and dry this diaper it never seems to get all the layers clean being they are all sewn together. What occurs then is the awful cloth diaper stink that no matter how many times you wash or strip them they still smell like your baby pooped even when he just peed. Or sometimes it gets so bad they smell that way right out of the drier. This is why we don't use AIO's; my kids both get diaper rash pretty bad from it being too many layers that never see the sunlight or really get exposed to the detergent/cleaning agents in the wash. This results in a nasty buildup and eventually nasty odor every time my kids peed. So we only use them on occasion and in the summer when I can line dry them because it takes forever to dry them completely in the drier.

The Pocket
Cost: I have the most of this variety. I got a bunch of these yard sailing, enough for 3 days, and payed about $90.( That also included the inserts, and a diaper bin with 2 bin liners and a wet bag for my diaper bag.)  Looking online you can get these for $10-$35 new. It is good to look when you are buying to see if you are getting the insert with the diaper and not just the "shell". That may be why it is cheaper. So again new it would be anywhere from $96-$560 for a set for 2 days.
Pros: These clean better, and dry faster than the AIO. They also are more of a trim fit diaper so not quite as puffy butt. They are also pretty simple to deal with, the only extra step in that you take the insert out when you put the diaper in the hamper and then stuff them when dry.
Cons: You do have to wash the diaper and the insert every time your baby pees so there is more laundry than some other options. Also depending on the insert you may have to fold the insert before stuffing it into the pocket. So more time lost in prepping the diaper for use after drying. Over all though in doesn't take that much extra time and not having that sink is so worth it for me!

The Hybrid
Cost: This is my favorite option as I feel you can do this very affordablely however you also can really spend on it too. You can spend $20-$35 new on these so $320-$560 for a two day set, or you can make your own set that would last for 3 days for around $25 or less which is the way we did it! More on that later.
Pros: These clean out nice, and make less laundry as you don't have to clean the shell every time you change your baby, you just put in a new pad in the shell. They are the trimmest fit of all the options, and they are great for heavy wetters as you can just buy or make a thicker pad for overnight or big drinkers.
Cons: If they don't snap in the pad may slide around and then there can be leaks. Some of the pads, like I use, require some extra folding.

So out of all the options we tried the one we like best is our home made hybrids! It is simple, clean, effective, inexpensive, and way less laundry! If you want to give cloth diapering a try and not spend a lot this is the way to go!

The things you will need to make the cloth diaper inserts for a homemade hybrid are:

• old flannel sheets (if you don't have any you can find them at Goodwill or Salvation Army)
• pack of 16"x16" microfiber towels (We get ours at Sam's Club, you can get 30 for $13.50)
• thread
• elastic
• pins
• (Optional) snaps

You will want to cut the flannel in rectangles of 24"x8"

Fold the short ends of the flannel down 3" or till they stick out a little bit longer than the microfiber towel and turn about 1" over to form a cuff. Do this for both of the short sides.

Fold the long sides under about 1" and lay in the middle of the microfiber towel. Then pin in place for sewing.

Sew a straight line from one end to the other leaving enough room for the elastic to fit, about 1/2" from the edge of the flannel.Repeat on the other side.

Pull the elastic through the tubes you just sewed along the sides

Sew the one end of elastic down starting right under the cuff. Pull the elastic to create some gather, not too much but enough to have it gusset around the babies legs. Sew the other side down and cut elastic, repeat on other side.

Now you have completed one insert! Just fold the two towel wings on top of each other over the flannel and tuck the ends into the cuffs. It will be a long pad that you insert into the diaper covers. This insert is for the size medium diaper cover. You have the option of putting a snap on the front cuff of the insert and the front of the cover to keep it in place better or you can leave as is and it still works great! You can get the covers on e-bay for about $5 a cover. You will want to get the diaper covers that you can Velcro or snap to close in the front and not the one piece kind as they don't fit as snug and make for messy changes with this style of insert.

You can save a lot of money and reuse, reduce and recycle older materials to make these diapers. It is a great option if you are concerned about the effect you have on our planet and country by not leaving more garbage to decompose in landfills.

Whatever cloth option you choose to use you are doing a great thing for your baby, your family and for everyone else too!

Why we LOVE cloth everything!

I love cloth things, I like the way they look, I like the way they work, I like that they are inexpensive, I like the way you never run out of them and I like the way they are green/earth friendly! In fact in our home almost anything you can buy as a paper product we use a cloth version.

Okay so confession time, when I was a young girl I used to think cloth hankies were so gross. It was one of those things that I told myself, "when I grow up I will NEVER be using one of those!" In my adult years, if there is one thing that I have learned, it is that I should "never say never!" Do you know why? Because most of the time when I do say it, I end up doing that very same thing. It is very humbling to face someone and admit you did a "never" who says, "I thought you said you would NEVER do that."

Anyway we are talking about my obsession with all things cloth. My mom made us, when we were first married, a huge set of cloth napkins. I can't tell you how many times when we have people over to eat they ask if they can use them or if they are for decoration! They are so pretty, and I find that it doesn't take as many to do the same job as a paper one so, less waste and I don't ever have to worry about running to the store because we have nothing to wipe our hands and faces on at dinner time.

Same for paper towels. We have microfiber towels that I use to wipe up messes on my counter. This one bothers my husband a little as he often uses them to see if seeds will germinate and I don't like doing that with the cloth because of molding. We have been using a mason jar sprouter which works okay for that purpose.

Yes, I do now use hankies instead of tissues. They are a big money saver and come in nice colors and patterns. Besides it is so cute to see my almost one year old son pick up a hankie and pretend to blow his nose, even if it is not runny. Funny kids :)

I have to say probably the biggest money saver we have in the cloth department is diapers. The average child goes through 8,000 diapers before they are fully potty-trained and according to the EPA all those diapers are estimated to take 550 years to decompose in a land fill! That is probably what most of our landfills are if you think of all the babies that are born in the US. So not only is it cheaper, and way more earth friendly, but they are so cute! All the bright colors and patterns that cloth diaper have now are just adorable on your baby's sweet bum. Honestly they are not really that hard to use either. I have used mainly two different kinds and and they are very simple, all Velcro and snaps, so no need to worry if you don't like the thought of pins.

We also use cloth wipes and they do a much better job than the ones that you buy in the store. Plus you don't have to worry about having harsh chemicals right against your babies bottom. It also happens to be a good character builder for my two year old, as it is her job to stack the clean wipes out of the dyer. She really enjoys having a job that really helps mommy and that she can do all by herself.

With all this cloth in our house you probably think I do a lot of extra laundry. Actually for our family of 4, with only one in diapers now, I do 1 load of napkins, towels and hankies and 2 loads of diapers a week. Not bad at all. I really don't notice it as it is a part our weekly routine now. I feel good about not spending the grocery money on napkins, paper towels, diapers and wipes. It just frees up my grocery list for more money toward good old fruits and veggies and more organic options. It lessens our impact on the earth, and hopefully leaves it a little better off for my children!

I hope to in the next couple weeks go into some of these cloth options a little more in depth.

                                                  Give cloth a chance and never say never :)
The Farmer in the Dell

Time to Reconect and Remember What is Important

There are some things that I sometimes take for granted in life and one of those things is my spouse.  We live in the same house, share the same meals and enjoy our children but by the evening, after we put those little ones to bed and it is just us, we sometimes either end up either going to bed ourselves, or stay up and do the work that was pushed off during the day.  There is not much "us" time in a week and part of that, I hate to admit, is due to poor planning and lack of effort.

We were able to get away this Valentines Day weekend to spend it together at a Weekend to Remember conference in Hershey. It was a very needed time to reconnect with each other just talking, and not about our kids or work, but about us. Every marriage needs maintenance, now how that looks for you may be different than us, but we all need it the same. Just like you can't expect your car to run great forever if you never take the time to maintain it, eventually things breakdown.

Being young parents to two kids 2 and under with another one coming down the line and a business and home to run it is an extremely rewarding but exhausting life right now. We both have different things that bother us and different needs. This combined with not enough time spent praying together and studying God's word as a couple and the spiritual side of our relationship was causing us to need a tune up.

As a result of our discussions and quality time spent together we decided there are a few things that I/we are going to work on in order to make each other happier and keep our marriage healthy and vibrant.

1. We need to pray with each other every day. Even if it is short, it is hard to stay mad at a person you are praying for.
2. We need to spend time looking into God's word as a couple; maybe even keeping accountable by being in a study with a group of other couples. Learning together and growing together in grace.
3. I need to stop using "you" statements and start using more "we" statements, and decide if the issue is even worth bringing up.
4. I need to make a regular, daily habit of encouraging and praising my husband in the good he is doing.
5. I need to relinquish my spirit of fear and desire to have control of my life and realize that God is the one in control, and he loves me and has great plans for me and my family.

It was such a blessing to talk and just spend time together as a couple, it reminds us why we started on this adventure in the first place. We both wanted to live a life that honored the Lord, we wanted a marriage that was a picture of the love Christ has for us, and family that loves each other and blesses those around them. I pray that we can live up to these high goals; with God all things are possible!

May the Lord richly bless and protect your marriages, as Satan wants nothing more than to kill, steal and destroy those things that the Lord takes delight in. Don't take your spouse for granted. Show love and grace to them even if you don't feel like they deserve it at the time. God loved us while we were unlovable, I need to show that kind of love to Joshua. Take the time to have real conversations about what is going on in your spirit with your spouse because the battle is not just with the flesh and blood but with the spirit realm as well.

1 John 4:7-10 
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

                                                               The Farmer in the Dell

This Weekend is Valentines Day!

This is a special time of year for me as Valentine's Day four years ago started a whole new chapter in my life. Josh and I had been courting for a little over a year, and while we had our ups and downs things were going good and we were getting to know each other better through life and the situations that pop up with it. This is often the best way to see what a persons true character is; being with them during a trying or difficult time.

At any rate this was to be a special day for us as Josh had made plans and this was going to be one of the rare times that we were going to go on a date without other people or family with. Part of our courtship was that we wanted to be held accountable by other believers and family, so we could maintain a relationship that wouldn't defraud the other person emotionally or physically. If we decided our future together was not fitting in with God's will we would have minimal heartbreak to carry on to future relationships.

He had told me we were going to go out for breakfast, as that is our favorite meal of the day, and there would be some other surprises along the way. Little did he know that there were more surprises than he planed!

The bad news started when my Dad, who owns his a cleaning business, had his employee call off sick. I was working for him at the time so guess who was going to have to fill the slot? Surprise, you guessed it me! So I called Josh to let him know that breakfast was not going to happen as the job was in the morning and at a farm 40 min away. His reply was not frustration just," Ok can I come with? All farmers like to talk to other farmers." This is such a true statement. I didn't even know then but boy I do now! So Josh called the farmer and asked if it was alright if he came with and talked to him about farming. Turned out when my Dad and I finished cleaning we had cut the farm tour short so we could get on the road and finally go for our special day. Never underestimate that farming bond!

When we got back to my house I started to get ready and while I was doing my hair Josh came in to tell me that the surprise was we were going to fly in a private airplane to go to breakfast! I had never been in a "little" airplane before so this was going to be really neat. However we got a call from the pilot and he informed Josh that the weather was so windy that I may never want to go flying again. So surprise! We decided to drive instead.

After getting lost on the way to our resort breakfast/brunch we finally arrive at 3:30 in the afternoon. We go in and everything is dark and the employee is sweeping up the floor. Not really what we were expecting, then we found out that the restaurant closed at 3pm. Surprise! We had to switch gears again and go to a different place for our lunch/dinner at this point. You would think with basically everything NOT going as planned Josh would have been really frazzled at this point, maybe upset or dicouraged, but nope he was just rolling with the punches and I was watching.

I took a break to fix my hair in the bathroom and while I was busy Josh discovered a gorgeous ballroom that was completely empty except for the fountain, soft music and skylight roof with the stars just comeing out. He went to the front desk and asked if it would be ok for us to be in there because the last thing he wanted at this point was to get dragged out by our collars and told to go home. They said yes and when I came out he showed me the amazing space that was just ours to spend this special moment together. We went down to the fountain and sat down and talked for a little then I asked, "so now what?" That is when he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife! I knew that beyond a doubt, no matter what happened in our lives after this, I was going to be with a man who didn't sweat the small stuff and just let the Lord have His way.

So while things didn't go the way we planned God had better things in mind. If we would have come in the morning that whole beautiful room would have been packed with people eating breakfast, the stars wouldn't have been out, and I would not have gotten to see how calm my then future husband is in difficult circumstances when things just don't go our way. It is one of the many traits that I treasure in him. The best surprises are orchestrated by God, we just have to trust Him and go along for the ride!

My Baby is Turning One, How Did That Happen?

It is so crazy how time goes so slow with your first child, you always seem to be waiting. First of all waiting for them to arrive, waiting for them to talk, waiting for them to roll, then crawl, then walk. I was always checking to make sure that she was keeping up with all the other children her age with developmental milestones. We were always taking pictures and video of all these "firsts" and documenting them for posterity.
Then I had my second child and suddenly everything is coming way too fast. I was almost caught off guard, because I had my sweet angel first child to keep me so busy and occupied that I lost track of time. He was even born before we were really ready, I had him 20 min after arriving at the midwife. We would have had him in the truck if we didn't drive so fast. That is really part of his personality too. When he is ready for something (like food or a nap) he wants it fast! I am developing my patience as he develops his.
It really hit me yesterday as it was February the first that my baby was going to turn one in just one month exactly! How did that even happen, he just learned to crawl a month ago and is learning new words and signs every day but he can't be turning one?
Well with only a month to go we have to get ready to party because we love to celebrate birthdays!
For Boaz's first birthday we are going to do a music theme because my little boy loves to jam! Every time he hears a tune he starts rocking and smiling; and if he can make a noise with something he is playing with then it is even better!
We have started making his pinata because as my daughter says, "we need a pinata for a birthday momma!" Plus what is more fun then getting to play with paste and ripping up daddy's old Lancaster Farmer news paper? I think she was feeling a little guilty about ripping up daddy's paper so she told him as soon as he came in the door from work, he of course didn't mind :)

We decided on making a guitar pinata so first thing we needed to do was trace out the shape on 2 pieces of cardboard and cut them out.

Then we taped some little balloons in between the two cardboard cut outs and put some tape on the sides to keep it from wobbling.

Next is the fun part, making paste I used 2 parts water to one part flour to make the glue. Then we ripped up an "old" Lancaster Farmer into strips and started to cover our guitar. We did about 4 layers then I cut a little hole in the side to pop the balloons and make a place for the strings to hang it up with.

We did about 3 more layers then put some colored tissue paper around the sides and decorated the front with colored paper and voila!

A pinata that I didn't have pay an arm and a leg for that can also be used as a party decoration. I like to put the money into the goodies to stuff it with, like boxes of raisins or crasins, squeezable fruit packs, granola bars and some fun toys. I try to keep away from having too much candy and we found things like goldfish crackers do not fare well in pinatas.

It is really hard for me to realize that my little "Boss" is turning one soon, so I am enjoying all the snuggles and cuddle time now while I still can!